Configure your MacBook Pro 13–inch

UPDATED IN MAY 2020, the 13–inch was the last MacBook to get rid of the butterfly switch keyboard that’d caused a small number of users big problems.

There are still just two external ports, both on the left and both Thunderbolt 3 (USB–C), one required for charging. Unless you don’t need any extra storage or accessories, you’ll probably want a hub. But a higher configuration, starting at $1,799, has two extra ports. This version now gets 10th–generation Intel i5 processors, with a higher 2GHz clock speed, while the cheaper models stick with the 1.4GHz eighth–gen — a perfectly adequate mid–range choice. At $300, upgrading the lower model to a 1.7GHz i7 doesn’t make much sense; on the higher model, a 2.3GHz i7 adds $200.

A welcome change is that even the base configuration, at $1,299, now comes with a usable 256GB of storage. Memory still starts at 8GB, which these days could easily get tight, so we recommend paying the extra $100 — previously $200 — for 16GB, because you can’t upgrade it later.

Doubling the SSD capacity is still disproportionately pricey at $200. The $1,799 configuration includes both of these upgrades as standard, but keep in mind that the 13–inch MBP has no option for a dedicated graphics card.

Starting in the same price bracket, you could consider recent (Touch Bar) refurbished 15–inch models, but note the possible keyboard issue. Relevant models less than four years old are still covered by Apple’s free repair program: see bit.ly/appleksp.

MINI MAX

Higher configurations of the Mac mini are also viable as a mid–range system, as long as you don’t need a proper graphics card or fancy shelling out for something like the Blackmagic eGPU Pro ($1,199 from blackmagic-design. com), which adds a Radeon RX Vega 56 in a box connected via Thunderbolt 3.